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DETROIT — In the bad old days, when a manufacturer built a fourth vehicle off a common platform used by three other brands, there was little—if any—excitement left. Been there, right? To be honest, there's a bit of that going on here with the new Chevy Traverse. Mechanically, it's largely the same as the GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave and Saturn Outlook. All of these crossovers are built on the so-called Lambda platform.

But here's the difference: You won't mistake the Chevy version for the other three. The Traverse has unique sheetmetal on the outside and an interior that doesn't share as much as you might think with its GM brethren. Inside and out, the Traverse looks very much like the big brother of the new Chevy Malibu. And like the Malibu, the Traverse is downright good-looking—so much so that many competitors now appear somewhat dated by comparison. —Jim McCraw

The Specs

The Traverse starts at $28,990, tops out at $39,810 and is available in front- or all-wheel drive, in seven- or even eight-seat configurations. It's built on an even longer wheelbase than Ford's already lengthy Flex at 118.9 in.—so, yeah, this is one big truck. But the Traverse is plenty cavernous on the inside, with one of the largest interior volumes in its class, plus cubbies and stashes to put stuff all over the truck.

Under that rather short hood is the same 3.6-liter, 24-valve V6 engine with direct fuel injection you'll find in other GM rides like the Cadillac CTS. And it's hooked to a 6T75 six-speed automatic. With a single-exhaust system, the V6 is rated at 281 hp and 253 lb.-ft. of torque. But get the dual-exhaust, and you'll have 288 hp and 270 lb.-ft. of torque. Why there are two engine specs with a mere 7-hp difference, we'll never know.

The GM computer-controlled part-time all-wheel-drive system adds 205 pounds to the base truck's healthy 4720-pound curb weight. And considering that heft, the fuel economy ratings of 17 city and 24 highway for the fwd model and 16 city and 22 highway for the awd model seem entirely reasonable.

The Drive

Our first impression? We really dig the design—inside and out. The Traverse has a tough stance for an eight-passenger crossover, and the look is modern and clean inside. The twin-pod instrument binnacles appear to have been inspired by Audi: The oblong gauge surrounds look very much like the ones in the A6. The quality of materials, design and workmanship inside the Traverse is on par with—and in some cases better than—the leaders in the segment.

Our 2LT came with one of the smartest features we've experienced recently: The rearview camera screen is built right into the rearview mirror—a far better location for it than down in the instrument panel. Although the small video display in the mirror is somewhat distorted in terms of distance to objects behind, the audible chimes provide plenty of warning. And that's good, because the Traverse is, um, large.

Like the other models built off this same chassis, the Traverse makes it easy to slide in and out of every seat thanks to the relatively low ride height and wide-opening doors. And the power tailgate is a godsend at the grocery store. The V6 and the six-speed automatic transmission worked well together. There's plenty of passing power and quick, authoritative kickdowns from the transmission. But we've got one picky complaint: It seems as though the transmission defaults into second gear as you pull away from stoplights. So in order to get the full acceleration potential, it takes a firm boot to command first gear.

Our Traverse had only 180 miles on the odometer, and the green engine didn't deliver very good gas mileage. On its best day, our Traverse brought back 16.1 mpg, according to the onboard fuel mileage meter. We would expect that, with 5000 miles under its belt, our truck could return better numbers.

The longer you drive the Traverse, the more you appreciate the chassis. The balance between ride and handling is excellent—even on the terrible streets and highways of Detroit. The Traverse handles lane-change maneuvers with alacrity and without the kind of body roll on frame SUVs exhibit.

We were impressed with the overall quietness, too. You can have a conversation from the first row to the third row and back, even at highway speeds in excess of the posted limits. Very little wind noise or tire noise intruded on the cabin, so we never had to crank up the XM radio to hear it.

The Bottom Line

The Traverse may ride on a chassis shared with three other GM brands, but Chevy has done a nice job differentiating this one from the pack. It looks great, it's easy to use as a family hauler and, most important to us, it actually provides a rewarding experience from that left front seat.